Alaska's Lost River Kings
"Alaska's Lost River Kings" is the second episode of Jeremy Wade's Dark Waters. While the first episode, "Italy's Lake Monster", due to its focus on an investigation, is occasionally compared by fans to the series River Monsters, "Alaska's Lost River Kings" features Jeremy embarking on a mission to discover the cause of a species' decline, making it more like Mighty Rivers. Summary Jeremy has heard of the loss of one of Alaska's most iconic fish, the King Salmon. Jeremy is particularly interested because it is the largest of the Pacific Salmon species. However, in this particular investigation, pollution can be dismissed because All of the other species of Alaskan Salmon seem to still have relatively strong runs. Jeremy's initial suspect is the Alaskan Brown Bear. Alaskan Brown Bears could perhaps be gorging themselves damaging the salmon runs. However, he soon learns that they do not prey on spawning Kings due to the fact that Kings spawn in water that is too deep for the bears. The bears can only access Salmon spawning in water two to three feet in depth, so if Brown Bears ever take Kings, they are most likely already spawned. Jeremy travels up the Yukon River, hoping to find more signs of Kings. He hears from locals that these fish have also taken a tumble recently. In the past, they were massively fished in the region, but now catches have dwindled. Some locals seem to blame Pike. Jeremy has seen large Pike in the past, like the Canadian Muskellunge. However, despite multiple attempts, he fails to catch a Pike large enough to threaten a full grown King Salmon. Jeremy's investigation continues, but he soon learns that this species is seriously threatened, and searches for scientific evidence to suggest what could be happening. One scientist says that tagged Kings in the ocean experienced a dramatic increase in temperature, to around 70 degrees. The scientist indicates that the Alaskan Salmon Shark could be responsible. Jeremy travels to the estuary where Salmon Sharks appear to have an annual Salmon feast. Perhaps this is causing the decline. Jeremy is unable to hook a shark, suggesting that the feeding is passed. Jeremy then hears of another predator, the Killer Whale. Orcas are much larger and more intelligent than Salmon Sharks, and perhaps they have turned to feeding on King Salmon. Jeremy travels into the ocean and sees a pod of Orcas swimming around. They do not appear to be hunting, but it does seem like Resident Orcas in Alaska have much stronger populations than they do in most of the rest of the Pacific. Jeremy then hears a fisherman confirm his suspicions that Orcas have turned to feeding on Kings. The decline of the King Salmon is not attributable to a single predatory influence. However, combined pressure from Humans, Salmon Sharks, and Resident Orcas seems to be killing off this species. However, Jeremy is able to join a team of scientists who get a King in their nets. As long as this species remains in the Alaskan rivers, there is always some hope of it returning. Category:Episodes Category:Dark Waters Category:Oceanic Category:Freshwater Category:Alaska Category:United States Category:Northern Hemisphere Category:North America